Future site of San Ramon fireworks to be discussed in public meetings

SAN RAMON -- After two years without Fourth of July fireworks, the city is discussing whether to bring them back again.

And after considering about a dozen sites for future displays, Old Ranch Park, at 1000 Vista Monte Drive, is being proposed as the leading contender.

The San Ramon Parks and Community Services Commission will conduct two public meetings on the proposal: one at 7 p.m. Wednesday, and another at 10 a.m. Feb. 1. Both will be held at the Dougherty Station Community Center, 17011 Bollinger Canyon Road.

In 2011, the city decided to cancel the fireworks display, which cost $175,000 at the time, due to a lack of funding.

However, the City Council decided to spearhead a long-range plan for bringing back the fireworks that would consider alternate locations and ways to fund them.

A new location is inevitable, since the previous site -- a dirt lot at Bollinger Canyon and Camino Ramon roads and supporting parking lots at Bishop Ranch -- will be displaced with the construction of the San Ramon City Center, which could start in 2014, according to a report prepared for the City Council.

To address questions about the possible effects to neighbors near Old Ranch Park, the city also mailed meeting notices to about 1,500 residents within a half-mile radius of the park. Residents include those in the Summit View, Bent Creek and Old Ranch Estate subdivisions.